Hey guys!

Guess what?

I finished writing this story! Now I just have to post the rest of the chapters - gradually of course :D.

Do you guys want a sequel?

Thanks to everyone who reviewed!

-Lauren

x.x.x

Yassen knew something was wrong as soon as they arrived

Maybe it was the eerie quietness of the building, the complete lack of cars in the car park, or the fact that the fire alarm was going off.

Paul swore.

'They set off the fire alarm. The cops are going to be here soon,' he said.

'The taxi driver was oblivious to their troubles, as he happily held out his hand for money as he listened to the radio. Yassen did a routine check. There looked like there was actually a fire – since smoke was rising out of the windows. He could already hear distant sirens. They would not have left Anya in there to die – Yassen was sure of that, but Alex was another story. Yassen would just have to hope he could get out of there if he was in there. Yassen doubted it, however. Alex would be smart enough to find a way to make himself indispensable. What with all the training he had in these sorts of things, Yassen was quite glad Anya had Alex with her. There was nothing else unusual – and then Yassen saw it. A black Hummer sped past them, and though the windows were tinted, Yassen knew exactly who was inside.

Yassen moved quickly.

'Get back in, all of you,' he ordered. He pulled out his gun and held it to the cab driver's head. The man looked to him in absolute fear. Of course, Yassen, knowing that he probably had a family, would never have shot him now that he'd met Anya, but he needed the cab driver gone and intimidation was the best and fastest way.

'Get out.'

Holding his palms in the air, the cab driver slowly stepped out of the car. Yassen grabbed the collar of the cab driver's shirt and flung him onto the pavement, hopped into the driver's seat and started to drive.

The sound of car horns reverberated all around them as Yassen sped crazily and darted in and out of the lanes to keep up with the Hummer. Paul, Jeremy and William could only watch in amazement. The mystery Russian man was a far better driver than any of them.

Yassen ran a red light, only narrowly avoiding a crash. The Hummer was 3 cars ahead of him, a significant improvement from when he had first started. Yassen overtook the car in front of him and accelerated even more.

'Don't shoot,' Yassen ordered sharply.

Yassen saw a fire truck race past him.

As a boy, Yassen had always loved watching high speed car chases. As a man, Yassen had always loved being involved in high speed car chases.

Maybe rejoining Scorpia wouldn't be so bad after all.

x.x.x

Anya had taken to screaming again, until Viper had slapped his hand over her mouth.

'The taxi is following us,' Viper told Smith.

'Locust probably stole a cab,' said Smith. Viper didn't believe it, but knew better than to argue with his boss. Since the cab was a few cars behind them, Viper couldn't make out who was driving the car. Alex had also noticed that the cab was following them, and though it was probably Locust, he couldn't help but hope it was an undercover police car, or even better, Yassen.

x.x.x

Smith pulled up in front of anther high-rise building and got out of the car. Viper did the same, dragging both Alex and Anya out as well. Yassen didn't drive into the car park.

'Why aren't you going in?' asked Jeremy. Yassen knew that these were relatively new Scorpia agents, but he didn't think that they were this inexperienced.

'If we go in while they know we're there, they have the advantage. They have the hostage. Therefore we need the element of surprise.' Yassen didn't want to explain anything to them, but he knew they would stuff something up if he didn't tell them the plan.

A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

They waited in the cab, and watched Smith, Viper, Anya and Alex walk into the building. Yassen could tell just by looking at the young assassin that he was skilled. Not a thing eluded him – Yassen saw him glance back in the direction of the cab before walking in. That would make it all the harder to get Anya back, but, after all, Yassen was Scorpia's best agent.

'Here's the plan,' said Yassen, and the other 3 assassins gave him their attention. Yassen hated working with other people. He had to explain everything, and he also had to rely on them. Yassen hated relying on people – he was the only person he could ever trust. Along with Anya. 'There's security. Look. There are cameras on every level on the balcony, and probably more inside. We have to hope that no one's watching them, which is probably a likely possibility, due to their earlier fault in their main headquarters. But you see how they're pausing at the door? There's some sort of key code or scanning device, which means we can't take the front door. We'll have to get in through the back. Remember that we want to get Anya back, but we don't want any attention from the police. Because he's shaken, Smith will be on his guard – but we can use this to our advantage. He will jump at the smallest thing – because the police may have followed him here. One of you has to create a distraction, but don't let yourself get caught while you're at it. The other two and I are going to climb up onto the second level, and then find Anya and Alex. We take out Viper and Smith and whoever else is there, call the cops on them, and then get out of there. Can you remember all that?'

'Yes,' said Jeremy and William.

'I'll do the distraction,' offered Paul.

Yassen nodded.

'Make sure he gets suspicious, though that won't be too hard,' Yassen told Paul.

'We'll wait two minutes, and then start,' Yassen told them. He looked at his watch. It was already 5:45. They waited two minutes in silence, Yassen hoping that nothing had happened to Anya, and then sprung into action. Yassen, William and Jeremy crept around the back of the building, and Paul went the other way.

'How are we going to get onto the second floor?' asked William. Yassen didn't want to answer him, but he knew he had to.

'We'll climb,' he answered, enjoying the shocked expression on William's face.

They reached the rear of the building, all ignoring the security cameras. Yassen held out his hand, signalling for the other two to stop, as he listened for the indication that Paul's distraction had worked. A loud bang and shouting followed a few seconds later, and Yassen indicated for them to follow him.

x.x.x

'Someone followed us,' said Smith. He swore.

Viper knew what was happening, but he kept his mouth shut. If his boss thought something, there was no way to change his mind anyway – this was one of his failings and Viper knew one day he would be undone because of it. Apart from being an evil maniac, that is.

'Would you like me to go and investigate?' asked Viper.

'No, I'll send Locust,' said Smith. He spoke into his headset again, and sat back down calmly, folding his hands. Smith listened to his earphone connected to the headset, and his expression darkened.

'Watch those two,' Smith ordered Viper, before leaving the room. Anya was glad Alex was with her, she suspected that there was more to him than a boy who simply watched too much James Bond. He had, after all, managed to escape temporarily from Dolphin, Shark and Locust and set off the fire alarm.

Before Alex could react, Viper had grabbed him from behind and held a gun to his head.

'Now, look. Here's how it's going to go. If you try anything, he dies. If you think his life isn't worth it, then I'd like to see you outrun me,' he warned Anya dangerously. Anya nodded. 'And remember that death is one of the least painless things that could happen…'

Anya shuddered.